Enron fosters a new flock of whistle-blowers
Big spike in hot-line calls seen at other companies

Washington -- As America watched Enron Corp. officials sweating in the Washington spotlight -- swearing ignorance of misdeeds, pointing fingers at others or simply taking the Fifth -- there was the predictable buzz in the air. But above the clicking of cameras and the low rumble of lawyers conferring with clients, there came another sound.
Was it the echo of whistles being blown elsewhere in the country? Is it wishful thinking on the part of fearful stockholders, or might the spectacle of management-in-the-hot-seat time embolden a new flock of corporate canaries to sing in alarm when they discover their company's cooked books, discriminatory practices or less-than-lawful dumping?
Employees contemplating blowing the whistle may take some courage from Enron Vice President Sherron Watkins, who last summer and fall explained her misgivings, first anonymously and later in person, to Enron Chairman Kenneth Lay. She told him she was "incredibly nervous" that the company might "implode in a wave of accounting scandals."